PHILADELPHIA - Redshirt junior Traci Carter scored a career-high 18 points and dished out six assists to lead the La Salle University men's basketball team to its fourth straight win, an 83-69 victory over Saint Joseph's at Tom Gola Arena at TruMark Financial Center on Tuesday. The Explorers, who improved to 7-14 overall and 5-4 in Atlantic 10 action, connected on a season-high 15 three-pointers and shot 53.7 percent from the field in the triumph.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Carter started things off with a pair of jumpers and the Explorers later forced the Hawks into a shot clock violation, leading to back-to-back three-pointers by junior Isiah Deas that pushed the advantage to 10 just 5:54 into the game.
• Threes by junior Saul Phiri and sophomore David Beatty extended the La Salle lead to 12 before Saint Joseph's pulled back within seven.
• Phiri quickly answered again from downtown though, as La Salle led 29-19 at the under-eight media timeout.
• After Beatty hit another trey to make it a 12-point contest, Saint Joseph's went on a quick 11-0 run to come within one.
• Freshman Ed Croswell stopped the run with a tip-in quickly followed by a blocked shot. Croswell later added a layup as La Salle held a 39-33 lead at the break.
• Beatty continued to light it up from beyond the arc out of the break with his fourth three less than two minutes into the second frame.
• Phiri then caught the hot hand, knocking down consecutive trifectas to give the Explorers a 51-38 lead with 15:44 to go. The difference remained 13 five minutes later when Carter converted a floater with the shot clock winding down.
• A three by Troy Holston brought the Hawks within seven shortly after, and the two squads traded baskets before graduate student Pookie Powell nailed a three-pointer to make it 68-55 with 8:05 left.
• Powell kept the difference at 13 two minutes later within a layup in traffic, however, Saint Joseph's managed to make it an eight-point game after a Chris Clover dunk.
• The eight-point difference was the closest the Hawks would get as the Explorers earned their first Big 5 victory of the season.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The 15 three-pointers bettered the 14 La Salle hit at Fordham on Jan. 23. The number was three shy of the school record of 18, set three times previously.
• Phiri went 5-for-8 from three-point range and finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes of action.
• Beatty added 15 points and three assists, while Powell closed with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Beatty was perfect from the floor in the first half, shooting 4-for-4 and 3-of-3 from deep.
• The 20 assists was a season high, and were dished out on 29 made field goals.
• Freshman Ed Croswell had another productive game off the bench, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds.
• Lorenzo Edwards led Saint Joseph's with 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including a 6-for-6 mark from three.

UP NEXT

• The Explorers will hit the road for a matchup with George Mason on Sunday, Feb. 10. 
• Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m., and will be aired live on Stadium. Check your local listings for availability in your area.